Okuma Corporation opened its second state-of-the-art smart factory, Dream Site 2, at its headquarters in Oguchi-cho, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The €8 million investment further increases automation and efficiency for producing parts for small- and medium-sized lathes and grinders.

Fanuc is building a new $550 million factory to double production capacity, driven by rising demand in China. The factory is expected to increase production significantly.

NXP Semiconductors, the Chongqing Economic and Information Technology Commission, and the Chongqing Laingian New Area Administrative Committee signed an agreement to establish the NXP China Applications Development Center for Auto Electronics in Chongqing, China. The center will hire 100 team members and has a 15-year commitment.

Russian-German joint venture NSKh RUS will build a high-tech metalworking machine tool production facility in the Zelenograd special economic zone, investing 1.63 billion rubles. The plant is expected to create over 150 jobs and reach first operating profit by 2020.

Efupiko began operations at its Kanto Eco Pet plant in Yachiyo, Ibaraki, Japan, which produces about 20,000 tonnes per year of recycled PET raw material. The investment was about ¥15.7 billion, and the company announced the start on November 1, 2017.

Saint-Gobain subsidiary PT Cipta Mortar Utama opened a new premixed mortar factory in Medan, North Sumatra, with an investment of EUR 9 million. The facility will produce 180,000 tons of premixed mortar per year.

Yazaki opened a new industrial plant in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, for the production of electric harnesses for trucks. The plant covers 2,100 square meters and uses Lennox HVAC equipment.

Rongtai inaugurated its high-technology tool design and manufacturing plant in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. The company is developing a US$40 million investment project, expected to reach US$60 million upon completion, and will generate 450 direct jobs over five years.

Pronar, a leading agricultural machinery manufacturer, opened its seventh production hall in Hajnówka, Poland, with a total area of 90,000 m², aiming to eventually employ 400 people to produce axles for trailers and tracked machines.

Astor Transformatör is opening a new factory in Ankara, Turkey, with a 200 million Turkish lira investment. The 100,000 m² plant will produce 800 kV 1000 MVA transformers and create 700 jobs.

RLC opened a £35 million, 10,000 m² aerospace engineering factory at Global Point Business Park in Newtownabbey, creating 85 jobs. The factory makes components for aerospace customers including Martin Baker and Rolls-Royce.

Jungheinrich opened a new production facility for B-type racks at the Polymetal-M plant in Tver, Russia, covering 15,000 square meters. The plant will serve the domestic market and export to Europe.

Continental announced the construction of a new manufacturing plant for automotive electronics in Kaunas, Lithuania, with an investment of €95 million over five years, creating 1,000 jobs. Groundbreaking is scheduled for mid-2018, with production start planned for mid-2019.

Bidell Gas Compression has completed a $2 million renovation of a former machine shop in Weirton, West Virginia, to build gas compression equipment for customers in the tri-state area. The plant employs about 30 people and plans to reach around 200 at peak operations.

McLaren Packaging is investing £3 million in a new 20,000 sq ft manufacturing, design and testing centre at Broadleys Business Park in Stirling for subsidiary Blue Box Design. Construction began in October 2017, with completion scheduled for April 2018 and 18 new jobs planned.

Prowell, part of Germany's Progroup, received unanimous planning approval in Ellesmere Port for a two-phase corrugated board plant on Lees Lane, to be developed by Peel Investments. The first phase is expected to bring investment of around £120m, with groundbreaking planned for early November 2017.

Zhanchen New Materials Group signed an agreement with the Taixing Economic Development Zone to build a 150,000-tonne annual capacity eco-friendly coating production base in Taixing, Jiangsu. The project involves an investment of CNY 600 million and is expected to start in 2018.

Acme Monaco Corporation held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new 16,300 square foot facility on Central Drive in Presque Isle, Maine, moving from two previous locations in the industrial park.

Dassault Aviation and Reliance Aerospace laid the foundation stone for the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) manufacturing facility at the Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park in Nagpur, India. Dassault will invest over 100 million euros (about $116 million) in the joint venture to manufacture aircraft components as part of the offset obligation for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

Nikka Chemical announced on October 27, 2017, it will invest about 3.6 billion yen to build a new chemical plant in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Construction is set to begin in April 2018, with operation targeted for July 2019. The plant will produce water-based urethane resin and surfactants, with a combined annual capacity of 4,000 tonnes.

Invenergy is developing the 2GW Wind Catcher wind farm in Cimarron and Texas Counties, Oklahoma, as part of the $4.5 billion Wind Catcher Energy Connection project. Construction began in 2016 and operations are expected to start by mid-2020. GE will supply 800 turbines of 2.5MW each.

Grand River Dam Authority dedicated Unit 3 at its Grand River Energy Center in Chouteau, Oklahoma, a 500 MW combined cycle power plant with the first MHPS J-series gas turbine in the US, representing a $500 million investment.

Elloumi Group will launch a new plant in Kenitra, Morocco, for assembly of electric cable harnesses for the automotive industry, with inauguration in November 2017 and production start in December 2017.

Stora Enso's new board production line BM 1 at its Beihai mill in Guangxi, China, started up in 2016, with an annual capacity of 450,000 tons of liquid packaging board and folding box board.

Fibertex Personal Care, a Danish textile company, will invest $60 million and create 145 jobs in a new nonwoven manufacturing facility in Asheboro, North Carolina.

Solvay Performance Polyamides has started production of engineering plastics at a new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, dedicated to the Technyl range. The facility has an initial annual capacity of 10,000 tons and created 30 jobs.

Russian Electric Motors (REM JSC), a joint venture of Transneft and Konar Invest, will build a plant at the Stankomash Industrial Park in Chelyabinsk to produce high-tech electric motors. The plant will be put into operation in 2018, with total investment exceeding 9 billion rubles, creating 352 jobs.

Bainaite (Xinxing) New Material Technology Co., Ltd. is constructing a polyurethane tire manufacturing plant in Xincheng Industrial Park, Xinxing County, Yunfu City, Guangdong. The project has a total investment of 300 million yuan and will produce 1.2 million units of environmental polyurethane tires annually.

Saudi Arabia announced the first construction phase of the Green Duba Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Plant in Tabuk region, with a capacity of over 605 MW including 50 MW renewable, costing SAR 4.5 billion ($1.2 billion).

The Arab Medical Equipment Company (AMECO) and UK medical devices manufacturer Kimal Plc launched a USD 4 million medical equipment plant in 6 October City, Egypt, with plans to export to 25 countries.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems has officially started construction of a 490 MWe combined-cycle power plant at the Żerań CHP Plant in Warsaw, Poland. The plant will be equipped with an F-class gas turbine and is scheduled for handover in 2020.

Solvay Performance Polyamides has announced the start of production of engineering plastics at a new facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The plant is dedicated to the Technyl range of materials for automotive and consumer goods markets, with a capacity of 10 KT.

MDI Holdings Corp., a joint venture between Vitalus Nutrition and Gay Lea Foods, officially opened a new $100 million dairy processing facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, creating 67 new jobs. The facility has a milk processing capacity of up to 180 million litres.

Litens Automotive Group inaugurated its first factory in Romania, located in Timisoara Airport Industrial Park in Giarmata, Timis County. The 7,500-square-meter facility will employ about 250 people and produce after-market car parts initially.

Saint-Gobain plans to open a new production line for special windshield glass in Călărași, Romania, in 2018, with an investment of €13 million. The line will produce 500,000 windshields annually and create 130 jobs.

Tekni-Plex held a grand opening for its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China. The company announced a $15 million investment in the facility to support the Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical and medical device markets.

Zowee Technology plans to invest approximately RMB 1 billion to build a factory in Nanchang's high-tech zone to produce quantum dot light emitting diodes (QLED). The first phase is expected to start production in 2018.

Danfoss Silicon Power GmbH opened a new factory at SUNY Poly's Quad-C facility in Utica, New York, to produce silicon carbide power modules. The facility is expected to create 300 jobs.

Wartsila is relocating its valve manufacturing operations to a new 5,570 square metre engineering and production facility in the Humber Enterprise Park in Brough, England. The move is expected to be completed before the end of 2017.

Dubai-based Hotpack Packaging Industries completed a property deal in Wrexham, Wales, for its UK headquarters and manufacturing plant, and plans to create 200 to 250 jobs. The company had earlier announced a GBP 50 million investment.

Dunapack Rambox, a subsidiary of Austria's Prinzhorn group, signed an agreement for an 11.5-hectare plot to build a 22,000 sqm corrugated packaging plant in Bolintin near Bucharest. The plant will create 200 jobs and, with the Sfantu Gheorghe factory, reach 300 million sqm of annual capacity; investment was not disclosed.

Ecolab's Nalco Water business opened Water University, a hands-on training facility on its Naperville campus, to help businesses manage water more efficiently.

Exide Technologies announced a new $35 million manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Missouri, to boost production in automotive and industrial battery markets.

Dana officially opened a $75 million axle plant in Toledo, Ohio, that will employ 350 people and produce up to one million axles per year for next-generation Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Scrambler, Ford Ranger, and Ford Bronco.

Resoltech, a French resin manufacturer, opened a new 2000 m² factory in Rousset, replacing its previous facility destroyed by fire in July 2015. The plant doubles production capacity and features new equipment and R&D laboratories.

Hefei Risever Machinery Co., LTD will build a new manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas, its first in the United States, with a $20 million investment and 130 new jobs, targeting an annual production capacity of 18,000 tons of steel.

J A Harrison officially opened a £2.8 million gasket and seal manufacturing facility on the Greengate Industrial Estate in Middleton, Oldham, which has already created 12 jobs and is expected to create 30 more over three years.

Inmed, a resident of the St. Petersburg special economic zone, has laid the foundation for a new research and production complex in Neudorf. The company plans to produce hemostatic agents and nanomembranes, with total investment exceeding 1.6 billion rubles. Construction is expected to take 18 months, with launch in 2019.

Aerojet Rocketdyne broke ground on a new 136,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The facility will bring roughly 800 new jobs and is expected to begin production by the end of 2019.

Ajinomoto Windsor, Inc. will open a new coated appetizer manufacturing and R&D facility in Joplin, Missouri in early 2018. The multimillion-dollar plant will create 220-240 new jobs.